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Musicians and artists are not… it’s not like politicians or something where you can’t really affect them.

Bradford Cox

I need punk rock. It’s the medicine for me, but it’s bitter and sickening. If you don’t need it – if you’re happy and healthy – run toward that.
BRADFORD COX

Medicine Rocks Running
I’m not meaning that in a disrespectful way; you go where people want to hear your music. So if that’s where people want to hear me play.
BRADFORD COX

Disrespectful Meaning Peopel Want
I’m obsessed with five different things a day. It’s like lightbulbs in a Christmas light chain.
BRADFORD COX

Different Obsessed
The same people that always think I’m pretentious will think I’m pretentious, and the people who relate to me will continue to relate to me.
BRADFORD COX

People Pretentious Thinking
You think about people like Elvis, Kurt Cobain, or the Beatles, who grew up without privilege and needed a certain validation through peoples’ acceptance, or admiration from their peers. And money is part of that, but it always comes too late.
BRADFORD COX

Acceptance Thinking Validation
There’s not like this separate caste system where it’s like, “I’m the musician, you’re the audience. Never the two shall meet.” It was a case where it was like, “Hey, you know what? I’m on your level, man.”
BRADFORD COX

Audience Know Learn Musician Shall
A song like “Walkabout”, it’s totally imitative. The goal of that song was to make people happy, and I’ve never really made a song to make people happy before.
BRADFORD COX

Goal People Song
I was trying to write a song based on a story in a random book of Puerto Rican short stories that I found in a thrift store.
BRADFORD COX

Book Song Writing
I don’t have the capacity to write stuff consciously. When I do, it’s really awful.
BRADFORD COX

Awful Stuff Writing
I’m not the guy in the dress with the blood and the unrequited gay whatever – which, according to my psychiatrist, my gayness is a form of narcissism but you’ll have to ask him about that.
BRADFORD COX

Gay Guy Narcissism Unrequited
When money and fame happen too late, it’s like pouring kerosene over a fire of self-loathing.
BRADFORD COX

Fire Late Loading Self Too
I’ve been going through a lot of… stuff. I need some space, which people were very kind enough to give me, and I feel really gracious about that. Nobody forces me to do things or say things or do interviews.
BRADFORD COX

Giving Nobody People Space
I see a lot of people doing an “’80s thing” who weren’t even born until the ’90s.
BRADFORD COX

Born Eighties People
They had it at the library and I always thought that was interesting, even when I was into punk and stuff. Just the history of storytelling and the amount of melancholy a lot of old music has.
BRADFORD COX

History Lot Music Old Storytelling
I read a lot – surveys of vernacular music. A lot of it is the Harry Smith Anthology of American Folk Music, which I’ve loved since I was in high school.
BRADFORD COX

Interesting Library School
Unlike the rest of everyone I hang around with, I don’t drink, so I remember what happened after shows. And I have never hit on anyone after a show, I’m not that kind of person. Even if I was attracted to someone, I’d be too shy.
BRADFORD COX

Everyone Happen Kind Remember Show Shy
Contrary to popular belief, maybe, I’m a really friendly guy, I guess, and I really like meeting people. And I’m not really super impressed even if you’re my hero.
BRADFORD COX

Hero Rap Song
The sober guy is always going to have this air of arrogance or self-righteousness, but it’s not my intention. I just knew that if I drank, I’d have a drinking problem.
BRADFORD COX

Air Arrogance Drinking Intention Self
When I started having a couple of beers and loosening up, I realized how many years I had wasted going back to my hotel room alone when I could have gone and just had a beer or two.
BRADFORD COX

Beer Couple Hotel Realize Years
Musicians and artists are not… it’s not like politicians or something where you can’t really affect them.
BRADFORD COX

Artist Men Two
I like playing at public schools. I like when there’s more of a diverse audience. I’ll play wherever people want to hear my music, and I’ll be glad and grateful for the opportunity, but I’d rather not play for a bunch of white privileged kids.
BRADFORD COX

Grateful Kids School
I don’t have anything to prove.
BRADFORD COX

Anything Country People Prove Totally
All music is devotional, whether it’s devotion to products, face washes, creams, plastic. Everybody is devoted to something.
BRADFORD COX

Devotion Music Something
I’m real critical of myself. I think a lot of what I’ve done is boring indie rock. I didn’t intend it to be that way, but somehow milk gets added to everything.
BRADFORD COX

Done Real Thinking
I want to build an audience that’s willing to follow us in whichever direction we might choose.
BRADFORD COX

Audience Build Choose
We all come back to our little worlds.
BRADFORD COX

Come Back Littles World
Audiences tend to dig the earlier stuff by any given musician, and the artists themselves always tend to prefer the thing that they’re doing now.
BRADFORD COX

Artist Musician Stuff

Musicians and artists are not… it’s not like politicians or something where you can’t really affect them.

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Musicians and artists are not… it’s not like politicians or something where you can’t really affect them.

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